But, for Williamson-Cox, it seems longer. For a while, well before 17-year-old Brandi Williamson ran away, her mother didn't recognize her.

Williamson stopped being the respectful, straight-A student at Oñate High her mother knew. She started skipping school, and hanging out with an older woman.

"I'm scared to death of where she is," Williamson-Cox said.

The piece of information most closely resembling a clue Williamson-Cox has received suggested her daughter had gone to Las Vegas, Nev.

But that unsubstantiated information came in January, with no update since then.

The family's domestic issues came to a head, Williamson-Cox said, in mid-December. According to a Las Cruces police incident report, Williamson's behavioral changes started when 32-year-old Charity Perez came into her life.

Williamson-Cox said one of her sons saw Williamson driving Perez's car, speeding down a frontage road. He confronted her, and dragged her home, his mother said.

Later Williamson, according to the police report, accused her mother of abuse - Williamson-Cox admits to slapping her daughter once, after Williamson cursed at her. That resulted, Williamson-Cox said, in a short police investigation and Williamson spending two days with a foster family.

Williamson, her mother said, was supposed to return home after school Dec. 17. Williamson-Cox said she went that day to pick up her daughter, but Williamson was not in class.

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Perez reportedly told police she was with Williamson earlier that day.

Her mother has not seen or heard from Williamson since then.

"I've gone everywhere I can possibly go," Williamson-Cox said.

Williamson is classified as a runaway, according to the LCPD report. The New Mexico Department of Public Safety lists her as a missing person, showing on its website a photo of Williamson and her information.

Williamson-Cox said her daughter sometimes goes by her middle name, Shaelene.

James Staley may be reached at 575-541-5476. Follow him on Twitter @auguststaley

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